> -----Original Message-----
...> Sent: June 6, 2000 09:19
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Computer program questions
>
>    ... I was wondering
> what is the most prevalent software for managing
> collections and /or archives, and what would be the
> most valuable for an up and coming grad student to
> learn. ( I've heard Access tossed around a lot but I
> was wondering if this program is universal?)
>  Sincerely, Taryn Rucinski
================================================================

There is no prevalent software for the above. Everyone will have an opinion,
in large part based upon which database programs they have been exposed to.
As a newcomer it is easy for you to become overwhelmed. Just remember that
when you ask someone about the program that they use, they are very likely
to act like a religious disciple and tell you that it is the "one true
database program".

By all means learn a database program, but like word processing or
spreadsheets, I suggest that it is the PRINCIPLES that you want to learn,
and that you should gain EXPERIENCE WITH VARIOUS DATABASE PROGRAMS. Ideally
an off the shelf program (e.g. MS Access 2000) and also a specific  museum
application. Which program is used at a museum varies greatly with the size
of the institution and with the country and/or geographic area, and in the
end boils down to who makes the decision as to which program to buy.

In some ways it is like learning to drive. You obtain your driver's licence
for cars, and it really does not matter too much whether you plan to drive
your Mom's right hand drive Rolls Royce or your Dad's left hand drive
standard shift Toyota. You might need to pull out the manual (especially if
it has unusual features), get some coaching, and practice, but in general,
you can adapt. You know the rules of the road, how to start a car, how to
steer, where the brake pedal is etc.

As a newcomer to the museum field, you may work at a museum where a computer
database is well established and there is a manual for you to study, and
maybe even a system manager to teach you. In other museums where they have
not yet computerized the collection records, they may tell you to chose a
program and set up a system for them. If so, there is no single "correct"
choice. There are many good programs out there. Another scary option is to
be hired and have to operate a system that a departed person left in place -
possibly with inadequate documentation.

Working with an off the shelf database program such as Microsoft ACCESS 2000
is interesting and useful as one starts to learn about the flexibility that
a database can offer. Leaning how to PLAN a database is very important, for
although one can make changes easily with MS Access (or with other databases
such as Paradox or Superbase) it is very frustrating to plan a database,
enter thousands of records and then change your mind and have to edit each
of those records. It is nice to be able to do this, but experience, coupled
with planning, can help you avoid having to do too much of this. For example
if you set up a database where the donor's name and address were recorded
for each artifact, and then you later learn that with a relational database
you can type the donor's address in only ONCE and then use their name or an
ID number to link the artifacts to that donor's data. Then if the donor
moves, you can make one update instead of possibly thousands.

Formal training in a popular database would be useful. For example
understanding what a "relational database" is, and how to reduce the
duplication of data and work, and how to create look-up tables for validity
checks (e.g. so that the artifact colour "grey" is always spelled grey and
not "gray" - or vice versa depending on your location).

Databases that are structured specifically for museum use are not seen on
the shelves of computer stores. Most computer people have not even heard of
these museum "applications". These are usually well thought out and include
fields and help information that a novice would not even think to ask about,
but about which museum registrars and curators have debated and argued for
years.

Experience with any well established and well planned database can help you
picture the possibilities of a fully operational system. The longer you work
with databases, the more you learn how they can help you, but they do
require a new way of thinking (e.g. sorting accession numbers is a challenge
but can be done correctly once you understand that a computer sorts numbers
by column e.g. 18, 19, 2, 20, 21.)

Having experience with various types of programs (databases, spreadsheets,
word processors etc.) will look good on a resume and stand you in good
stead. As a newcomer to the museum field you are likely to go to a museum
that already has a database. Knowing how to use their type of program may
well help to get you hired, but if you don't know Argus for example, but do
have database experience, you should be able to learn fairly quickly.

People tend to be loyal to the computer programs that they are familiar with
and switching is hard to do. A silly situation arose in Canada a few years
ago where I received phone calls from two Curators. They had actually
switched institutions. Each believed that the database they had used at
their previous museum was better (more comfortable like an old pair of shoes
is probably more accurate), so they each changed the museums' databases!

If you are tasked with setting up a system for a museum, DOCUMENT IT
thoroughly! Your successors will thank you instead of curse you.

The bottom line is that the database is there to store information and then
help you to retrieve that information in useful ways. Programs are becoming
more powerful and easier to use (thank goodness!). Many museums will be
looking at transferring data from one database to another either as they
upgrade or as they share with the world e.g. the Canadian Heritage
Information Network (CHIN) Artefacts Canada on-line database.
http://daryl.chin.gc.ca/Artefacts/e_MasterLayout.cgi  Canadian museums have
been working collaboratively for many years on sharing data.

CHIN Software review:
http://www.chin.gc.ca/Resources/Collect_Mgnt/e_hp_cmser.html
(NOTE: CHIN "membership is FREE.
http://www.chin.gc.ca/About_Chin/e_membership.html#MEMBERSHIP

The CHIN home page is: http://www.chin.gc.ca/e_main_menu.html
CHIN is also available in French. Each page has a "francais" button.

In my own case I have worked with Heritage Sentinel (a special museum
application; three versions since 1989; based on Advanced Revelation),
Paradox (DOS and Windows versions), Microsoft Access 97 and Microsoft Access
2000. I have also dabbled with other programs.

Colin Macgregor Stevens,
Curator,
Burnaby Village Museum,
Burnaby, BC, CANADA

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